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Always important to differentiate between poor service and poorly cooked food (which includes poor quality).
Both deserve comment - firm but polite and always to restaurant manager.
Good service should be expected.
Exceptional service should also be commented on.
As above, chain restaurants do not comprise the majority in the UK; they are functional and should offer consistency, food of predictable/reliable quality which won't be of the highest and competent service.
There is definitely a growing trend to apply 12.5% as a standard gratuity but it's far from widespread.
"The major chains are not “most restaurants”."
i suppose it depends where you are in the country. In the SE it appears to be the norm, not just in chain eateries.
I was up in London last weekend and was very surprised to find my favourite restaurant had followed suit.
Times are hard, VERY few restaurants make a profit and if it ain't the norm round your way it soon will be!
I much prefer it when service is included,it's part of the cost of running the restaurant so shouldn't be discretionary. Seems to be the norm in much of Europe.
Italian restaurants are so often disappointing in Britain. They often look inviting and the staff are friendly but the food is often mediocre.
Must say, we popped to a local favourite Italian just last night, and the food and the service were both fantastic as ever. Very unspectacular, looks like a converted terrace house on a busy Birmingham main road, but it's great - zero pretension, great staff, and delicious food. 🙂
Seems to be the norm in much of Europe.
IME varies country to country and if you are in tourist areas or not
Recently in Spain my Spanish pal told me that tipping is just not a part of the culture there at all. IME France it usually is expected you tip in restaurants
based on a quick google, somewhere around 20% of restaurants in the UK are chains
I'm astonished it's that low. Are they being particular about the definition of "restaurant"? McD's calls itself restaurants.
I much prefer it when service is included,it’s part of the cost of running the restaurant so shouldn’t be discretionary.
That being the case then sure, it's the hiding it that irks me.
That's why I googled 'full service' restaurants - excludes McD, BK, etc.,
I guess as well there are a lot of Curry restaurants (wow - google says 12,000)
So a restatement would say there are ca 24,000 non curry FS restaurants in the UK of which about 1/3 are chains. Does that sound more reasonable
That’s why I googled ‘full service’ restaurants
Aha, I missed that. Cheers.
edited my answer above
I much prefer it when service is included,it’s part of the cost of running the restaurant so shouldn’t be discretionary.
Actually its not. Its an extra. All tips and service charge should go directly to the staff and not be absorbed by the restaurant costs
"should"
So a restatement would say there are ca 24,000 non curry FS restaurants in the UK of which about 1/3 are chains. Does that sound more reasonable
Yeah, that feels like more plausible numbers.
(I wasn't doubting you in the first place, I was just surprised)
me too - but that's also on the basis of my nearest 'place to eat' is Guildford and like most High Streets (OK, affluent ones, I know the death of the high st etc.) almost every other restaurant is a chain one.
Then I thought of my nearest actual place to eat and it's a curry place, then I thought of where I used to live and that has (had, I moved 18 years ago) an Italian, a Greek/Med, and two curry places, and so with a bit of thought that made me wonder how many of those 35K were curry places.
One in three still surprises me, even with that very rudimentary count showing 50% +